Festivals, security deployment behind 44-day spread of General Election: Experts

Lok Sabha elections 2024 will take place in seven phases from April 19 to June 1

Polling for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be spread over 44 days, the second-longest duration in history after the first parliamentary elections in 1951-52. This may significantly increase the burden on the government exchequer for conducting the election. The phased voting is needed for positioning security personnel, considering the geographical diversity of the record 97 crore registered voters, experts said.

The Lok Sabha election will take place in seven phases, from April 19 to June 1, and the votes will be counted on June 4, the Election Commission had announced. In 2019, the general elections were held in seven phases from April 11 to May 19 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha, while the 2014 general elections were held in nine phases from April 7 to May 12.

With the huge registered voter base of 97 crore at the last count, the cost of conducting the general election will run into thousands of crores.  The cost of conducting elections in India can vary depending on several factors, including the scale of the election, the number of constituencies involved, the deployment of security personnel, logistics, and administrative expenses.

The Election Commission of India had estimated the cost of conducting the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to be around Rs 8,500 crore and the 2014 Lok Sabha elections at around Rs 4,000 crore. The government spent about Rs 100 per voter on the 91 crore electorate in 2019, former election commissioner, Ashok Lavasa had said earlier.

“The Extended duration of 44 days is likely to escalate costs to the exchequer and delay key policy decisions. While the Chief Election Commissioner has reasoned India's diverse geography, including rivers, mountains, snow along with varied seasonal conditions, posing challenges for security forces' movement for the prolonged polling, the Opposition seems to be blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s extensive campaigning across India for it,” Shryeshth Sharma, Partner, SKV Law Offices, told Moneycontrol.

Even after the same number of phases as compared to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the duration of spread has increased.

“Extending the voting schedule for the Lok Sabha elections by six days could raise overall election costs significantly. Operational expenses would surge due to the need for prolonged staffing, transportation, security, and logistical requirements. The Indian general election of 2024 is going to be the most expensive in the world. Moreover, additional training for officials and volunteers would be essential to manage the extended duration effectively. Security costs would also rise to maintain law and order, while awareness campaigns would demand more resources to inform voters about the extended schedule. However, the final impact on the election budget would depend on how the Election Commission manages the extended voting period and optimises resource allocation,” Utsav Trivedi, Managing Partner, TAS Law, told Moneycontrol.

The sudden resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel just before the announcement and selection of the new Election Commissioner also delayed the process of the announcement of the polling schedule.

“Planning of elections is a very elaborate, complicated exercise undertaken after consulting all the departments that are required to support the ECI in planning the logistics. Local circumstances, like local holidays, examination schedule of local educational institutions, availability of security forces is also taken into account before deciding on the dates. I’m sure EC would have taken all these factors into account before announcing the schedule,” former election commissioner Lavasa told Moneycontrol.

Consecutive festivals such as Holi, Bihu, Baishakhi and Tamil New Year are also the reason for such a delay. The Election Commission of India has announced the polling dates in such a manner that they do not coincide with festivals, for the smooth conduct of elections.

“The main reason cited is that security personnel need time to be positioned,” former secretary in the Ministry of Finance EAS Sarma told Moneycontrol.

Despite the extended timeline, the Election Commission emphasised that its decisions were not intended to favour or disadvantage any particular party, but rather are based on practical considerations to facilitate a fair and efficient electoral process. Spreading the elections over multiple phases allows the Election Commission to stagger polling dates to maximise voter turnout. This ensures that as many eligible voters as possible have the opportunity to cast their votes without overcrowding polling stations.

"We have 97 crore registered voters, over 10.5 lakh polling stations manned by 1.5 crore personnel, and 55 lakh EVMs. The Election Commission is committed and has put in place measures to deal with disruptive challenges," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had said while announcing the polling schedule.

“The longer duration of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections can be attributed to various factors, including the geographical diversity of India, the need to accommodate security forces' movements, the scheduling around festivals and exams, and logistical considerations such as the time required for inter-state movement of security forces and the avoidance of clashes with important dates in the calendar. Additionally, the larger number of phases in states with higher constituencies and candidates also contributes to the longer duration,” Abhishek Awasthi, Partner, RR Legal Partners, told Moneycontrol.